To Find Missing Persons KYK9 Search Dogs:

Follow unique scent of a missing person and ignore scent of other people.

Follow bike and car trails.

Search and clear homes and buildings.

ID a person hiding in a crowd.

Locate human remains on land or in water.

Find forensic evidence in criminal cases.

Search anytime, night or day.

Educate the public, law enforcement, and others on how search dogs can assist them.

Pocket trailing a person across acreek.

Scent Specific Trailing Dogs

KYK9 teams use scent-specific trailing dogs. The dogs are trained to follow the scent of a specific person to the exclusion of all others. So, if Johnny is missing, when the dog follows and finds him with a group of other kids, the dog will indicate on Johnny, not the other people.

The likelihood of successfully locating a missing person decreases as time passes, so it is critical to respond in a quick and accurate manner. Scent specific search dogs depend on the professional collection of a scent article of the missing person. The sooner search dogs are called, the better chance of collecting a good scent article and having a positive outcome.

Canine Search Teams

Every canine search team has a dog and its handler. The best teams train together: the dog and handler work as one. The dog has the nose and the handler has knowledge to help the dog perform its best in a variety of circumstances. Ideally, a team also has a flanker, or what KYK9 calls as SSF (Situational Safety Flanker). An SSF is critical member of the team and is in charge of safety, mapping and communications.